Loom for weaving



Feb. 19, 1935. F. c. H ALE ET AL.

LOOK FOR WEAVING Filed June 12, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FRANK c- .HALEQ :roHN w. BENNETT Fais l 19,1935. I F. c. HALE El AL LOOM FOR wmvme Filed June 12, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I lmlln l l l FRANK c- HALE TUHN W- BENNETT WIKTOKS 1% Patented Feb. 19, 1935 1,991,595 .LOOM ron wmvnve Frank Corbyn Hale and John William Bennett,

Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to. Celanese Corporation of-America, a corporation of Delaware Applicationdune 12, 1933, Serial No. 675,406 InGreat Britain July 4, 1932 8C1aims. (01.139-347) This invention relates to looms for weaving of the race carried by the sley being kept as and has for its object the modification of such small as possible to permit the shuttle to pass looms for the purpose of enabling them to opersmoothly across the loom. Picking can he ate at a higher speed. effected by mechanism of the over or under Of all factors governing the speed at which type, as desired. 5

weaving is effected, the weight of the oscillating Not only does the invention permit of high parts comprising the sley, reed, and the shuttle speeds of operation in looms generally, but it box is the most important. If in any particular enables shuttles of high weft capacity to be emloom, a higher speed is attempted, vibration may played without consequent increase in the weight be generated to such an extent that excessive of the oscillating parts such as would ordinarily '0 wear and strain are caused on the working parts seriously reduce the rate at which the loom and the frame of the loom, or even that the loom could work. Thus, apart from any increase of is rendered unable toproduce satisfactory fabric. the width of the shuttle-race which might be It is further to be remarked that even if a higher necessary to accommodate a large shuttle, the

16 speed is achieved, the renewal of worn or broken increase of dimensions is largely confined to the parts and the uncertainty of control of the shuttle-boxes themselves, and these being stathreads, result in a more than normal wastage tionary, the rate of operation is not interlered of material and time, so that the output. of good with by reason of their greater weight. In fact, fabric is not greater in the long run, or is even the shuttle-boxes may be of such dimensions as less than, the output of the loom when running to control shuttles the size of which is limited atalower speed. only bytheslze of thewarpshed, so that apart The present invention enables the loom to be from the high speed possible, the output of the run at a greater speed by reducing the weight loom is increased because stoppages or spool-. of the oscillating partsand according to the changing dwellsare less frequent and conseinvention the shuttle boxes are separate from quently there is less requirement for supervision 2 the sley of the loom, so that the sley is relieved of the loom.

of their weight and is capable of high speed of By way of example some forms or loom mechaoperation. Further, being relieved of the necesnism according to the present invention will now sity-ot carrying the shuttle-boxes and amociated be described in greater detail with reference to gear, and consisting 'mainly 01' a reed and a the accompanying drawings, inwhichzshuttle-race extending over the gap between the Figure 1 is a front elevation 01! the working shuttle-boxes, the sley may be of much lighter part of a loom according to the present invenconstruction than is usual, which again is 0! tion; a great assistance inenabling' it to operate at Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional side elevation hig'her'speed. on the line 2-2 of Figure l;

The shuttle-boxes may be carried on brackets, Figure 3 is a plan view of a shuttle box as illusconveniently attached to the frame of the loom, trated in Figures 1 and 2; or otherwise supported on the loom frame itself Figures 4 and 5 are details of the sley driving and are arranged approidmately in line with the mechanism employed in Figures 1 and 2;

centre-lineof the sley at its back centre position, Figure 6 is a front elevation of a drop box 40 so that picking of the shuttle can be eflected loom employing the principle of the present inwhile the shed is at maximum opening. Itis vention; desirable with the shuttle-boxes in a stationary Figures 7 and 8 are side elevations or a loom position, that picking may be eflected while the according to the present invention in which a shuttle race is stationary or substantially so cop changing andashuttle-changing mechanism 4 between thetwo boxes, and suitable means are respectively have been applied; and therefore provided to allow the sley to have a Figure 9 is a plan view of a shuttleless loom dwell of suitable duration when it is in line with employing the principle of the present invention. the shuttle-boxes. For example, the sley may Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the side frames conveniently be driven by cams of .such profile 10 of the loom are provided with brackets 11 car- 50 that a dwell of suflicient duration is obtained at rying the shuttle boxes 12 in a stationary posior about the back centre position of the loom. tion. .The shuttle race 13 and the reed 14 of the I At the moment of picking, the shuttle-boxes loom are carried on short sley swords 15 swingand the sley present a continuous race for the ing about a shaft 16 running across the loom. shuttle, the gaps between the boxes and the part Picking sticks 17 are provided for the propulsion 55 of'the shuttles from the shuttle boxes 12 in the usual manner. The shuttle race is of such length as to extend from one shuttle box to the other, a small clearance only being left over which the shuttle runs without difliculty. The reed 14 is secured to the shuttle race by means of a tubular cap 18-secured at the ends to the tops of the sley swords 15, and fitting over the top of the reed.

The shortness of the sley swords 15 imparts a pronounced backward inclination to the shuttle race in the picking position, which helps the shuttle to be retained in the shed during pickmg.

Each sley sword 15 is connected by means of a spring link 19 to a lever 20 pivoting about an axis 21, and the lever 20 is connected by means of a link 22 to a second lever 23 pivoting about an axis 24. The levers 20, 23 carry cam bowls 25, 26 acting respectively on cams 27, 28 keyed to a cam shaft 29. By the provision of the two cams 27, 28 and twolevers 20, 23 the sley sword 15 is driven positively in both directions.

The sley sword in Figure 2 is shown in full lines in its beat-up position and in dotted lines in the picking position in line with the shuttle box 12. It will be observed that the two cams 27, 28 give the sley a. dwell of approximately 180 in the picking position. In connection with the cams 27, 28 a brake drum 30 is secured on the shaft 29, the drum 30 being provided with a weight 31 to balance the cams 27, 28. The cams 27, 28, the brake drum 30 and the link 22 are shown in section in Figure 4, from which it is seen that the link 22 lies between the two cams.

The shuttle box is shown in plan view in Figure 3. The front side of the shuttle box is provided with a pivot piece 32 held in position by means of a flat spring 33 and adapted to give way should the shuttle fail toenter the box properly and be caught by the reed.

A swell 35 pivoted at 34 is'provided at the back of the shuttle box, adapted to be pressed back by the shuttle upon entering into the shuttle box, and, if not pressed back by such entry, to stop the loom. The pressing back of the swell 35 acts through. a lever 36, and rotates a swell spindle 3'7 against the action of spring 38 so as to swing downwardly the lever 39. As shown in Figure 2, the lever 39 is provided at its lower end with three rollers 40 engaging with a curved rod 41 pivoted at 42 to the sley sword. Downward motion of the lever 39 presses down the rod 41 and raises a catch 43 on the other side of the pivot 42, enabling the catch 43 to clear a spragging mechanism 44. If however the shuttle fails to enter the shuttle box, the swell 35 is not pressed back and the lever 39 is not pressed downward,-

so that the catch 43 engages with the spragging mechanism 44 and acts through a link 45 to apply a brake 46 to the brake drum 30. The brake 46 is normally held in the off position by means of a spring 47, a stop 49 being provided which is adjustable by turning the screw head 50 in order to vary the clearance of the brake 46 from the brake drum 30. The swell spindle 37 extends from one shuttle box to the other, and is common to both so that if the shuttle is properly home in either shuttle box, the swell stop motion is rendered inoperative.

In addition to the swell 35, a checking swell 51 is provided to check the momentum of the shuttle on its entry into 'the shuttle box. The swell 51 is eased at picking to'allow the shuttle to leave the shuttle box unhindered: This is accomplished by means of a lever 52 carrying at one end a cam bowl 53 which is operated by a cam 54 and working at the other end on the lower end of a lever 55. The lever 55 is mounted on a sleeve 56 surrounding the spindle 37, which sleeve also carries a lever 57 held against the free end of the swell 5 51 by means of a further spring 38. The cam 54 acting through the levers 52, 55 and 57 compresses the spring 38 and eases the swell 51 as the shuttle is about to leave the shuttle box. A similar but differently timed cam is provided at 10 the other end of the loom corresponding with the cam 54.

In order to provide sufficient force for the brake 46 to be applied, the sley 15 is driven by means of a spring link 19 shown in detail in Figure 5. The/l5 link comprises a rod 19 secured at one end to the top of the lever 20 and passing at the other end through a bore in the sley sword 15. The rod 19 is secured at its extreme end by means of a securing piece 58. In the backward motion of 20 the sley sword, the drive is effected positively through the rod 19 and the piece 58. In the beatup motion however, the drive is effected through two springs 59, 60 which are connected together by means of a tube 61 inside and outside of which 25 respectively the two springs pass. The springs 59, 60 are normally sufficiently strong to hold the piece 58 against the front side of the sley sword 15, so that the beat-up motion is normally etfected positively, but when the sley sword en-v 3i! counters a resistance as for examplewhen the shuttle fails to enter the shuttle box and the brake is applied, the springs 59, 60 compress. The compression of the springs not only prevents accidents due to the forward motion of the shuttle as race, but also provides a sufficient force, acting through the spragging mechanism and the link 45 to hold thebrake 46 on the brake drum 30 despite the fact that the rotation of the cams 27, 28 has ceased under the action of the brake and to. that these cams are no longer providing driving force to the sley sword 15. The clearance of the brake 46 permitted by the stop 49 is reduced to a minimum, so that the application of the brake is immediate, and the sley has not. time to gather a great momentum before braking is effected.

A weft fork of ordinary type is also provided on the loom, the motion comprising a fork 82 against which the weft is brought at each pick by means of a grid 162 on the shuttle'race. The in contact of the weft with the ,fork 62 lifts a tail 63 of the fork out of engagement with a hook 64 on the upper end of a lever 851 The lever/65 is operated by a second lever66 carrying a cam bowl 67, a cam 68 oscillating the iever 65 .once 55'. l

in each pick. So long as the weft is laid, the oscillation of the. lever 65 has no effect, but if the weft fails, the fork 62 passes through the grid '162, and the tall 63 of the weft fork 62 is not 1 lifted clear of the hook 64 and the lever. 65 is I thereby connected to a second lever 70 on theend 71 of which the weft fork is pivoted. The motion of the lever 70 operates through the nose 72 and a lever 73 to knock off the starting handle 74 of the loom, and bringthe loom to rest. A 66 similar stop motion is provided at the other end of the loom, the grid 162 on each side being shown in Figure 1. I

Figure 6 illustrates the application of a drop box mechanism to the loom of the present inven- 70 tion. The frame 10 of the loom is provided with a bracket in which two shuttle boxes 81 are adapted to slide vertically in the manner usual with drop-box looms, the shuttle boxes 81' actuated by a pillar '82, connected to a horizontal lever 83, whose position is determined by means of suitable pattern mechanism (not shown). As previously described with reference to Figure 1, it will be seen that the picking stick is connected to the loom frame, being pivoted on a bracket 84, and being actuated by a picking strap 85. A similar change box mechanism is provided at the other end of the loom, so that a change of weft maybe made at any pick. The shuttle race 13 and reed 14 are carried on sley swords 15 as described with reference to the previous figures, and operate independently of the shuttle boxes 81. In this way, the sley is relieved of the very considerable weight of the multiple shuttle boxes, and of the operating gear thereof, which, in ordinary drop-box looms, are carried by the sley. This enables the speed of the loom to be increased, while the weight of the shuttle boxes and the size of the shuttles are not limited by the necessity for making these parts light enough to oscillate with the sley.

In Figure ,7 a cop changing mechanism is shown in connection with a stationary shuttle box loom according to the present invention. The mechanism is secured to the'same bracket on the loom frame as the shuttle box, and is in permanent association with the shuttle box. Cops 87 slide down a magazine 88, the last cup 89 being held in position by means of a spring 90. The shuttle 91 and the shuttle box 92 are both open at the bottom, and when a change of Weft is necessary a hammer 93 is caused to descend upon the last cop 89, driving the old cop 94 out of the shuttle and inserting the new cop 89. The shuttle box 92 is always in position for the cop changing operation, independent of the position of thesley, which in this figure is shown in the forward or beat-up position. Instead of effecting cop changing during the brief instant when beat-up occurs, the change may be made at any time during the whole beat-up stroke. At the same time the shuttle box and the copchanging mechanism are always accurately positioned for the changing operation, both being stationary.

In Figure 8 a shuttle changingmechanism is' illustrated as applied to the loom according to the present invention. The shuttle changing mechanism is attached to the frame of the loom, and comprises a shuttle box 94 which is movable independently of the sley 95. When a change of shuttle is required and when the shuttle box 94 is empty, the shuttle being picked to the other side of the loom, the shuttle box 94 is raised and a new shuttle 96 from the magazine 97, is pushed into the shuttle box 94 by means of an arm 98. The old shuttle is then picked back into the lower shuttle box 99 which is now in the picking position opposite theswell, and the shuttle box is then dropped, bringing the new shuttle 96 into the picking position and releasing the old shuttle from the retaining action of the swell 101 so that it may drop into a receiver 100 provided for the purpose. The magazine being disposed adjacent to the permanent position of the shuttle box, the path traversed by the shuttle entering the shuttle box is short, and since both shuttle box and magazine are stationary, the change is effected with precision.

Figure 9 is a plan view of a shuttleless loom of the type described in U. 5. application S. No. 484,785 filed 27th September, 1930, to which the principle of the present invention has been applied. The sley 102 is shown in the beat-up position, while the shuttle boxes 103 which accommodate a dummy shuttle 104 are shown secured to the loom frame 10. Loops of thread 105 coming from stationary supplies 106 are held in loop trapping devices 107, and drawn by means of loop drawing devices 108'into a position where one limb of each loop, having been out free from the trapping devices 107, is in a position to be engaged by a prong 109 on the shuttle 104 and to be drawn through the shed. Depressers 110 are shown, whose function it is to press the loops of-thread 105 downward into a position for engagement by the prong 109, and in accordance with the present invention the previous positioning of the loops105 with respectto the depressers 110 and the shuttle 104 is greatly l5 facilitated on account of the fact that the shuttle boxes 103 are stationary and secured to the frame of the loom, instead of oscillating with the sley 102.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A loom comprising a sley, shuttle boxes mounted independently of the sley, means for oscillating the sley, a collapsible connection be tween said sley and said oscillating means, de-

tector means at each of said independently mounted shuttle boxes, means under the control of said detector means adapted to bring the sley to rest before beat-up upon failure of the shuttle to reacheither of said independently. mounted shuttle boxes, the said collapsible connection yielding under the continued motion of the sley oscillating means, and spring means adapted automatically to re-set said collapsible connection to normal length on correction of the shuttle failure. I 1

2. A loom comprising a sley, shuttle boxes mounted independently of the sley, means for oscillating the sley, a spring-urged telescopic linkconnecting said. sley and said oscillating means adapted to yield against excessive resistance to forward motion of the sley, and to pull said sley backwardly positively, detector means at each of. said independently mounted shuttle boxes, and

means under the control of said detector means adapted to apply excessive resistance to forward motion of said sley before beat-up upon failure of the shuttle to reach either of said independently mounted shuttle boxes.

3. A loom comprising a sley, shuttle boxes mounted independently of the sley, means for oscillating the sley, a brake for said oscillating means, a yieldable connection between said sley and said oscillating means, detector means at each shuttle box, and means under the control necting said sley and said oscillating means, de- 05 tector means at each shuttle box, and means under the control of said detector means adapted to'bring the sley to rest before beat-up against the pressure of said spring-urged link and substantially' simultaneously to connect said sley to 70 said braking means upon failure of the shuttle to enter either of said independently mounted shuttle boxes, so that the pressure in said springurged telescopic link holds said braking means 5 in operative position'on said oscillating means.

5. A loom comprising a sley, shuttle boxes mounted independently oi the sley, means for oscillating the sley, a yieldable connection between said sley and said oscillating means, a curved rod pivoted on the sley and having a centre of cln'vature at the centre of motion of the sley, a catch connected to said rod, swells in said independently mounted shuttle boxes, a spragging mechanism adapted to stop the sley before beat-up, and means connected to said swells and adapted to ride idlyon said rod ii the shuttle is home in either of said independently mounted shuttle boxes and to raise said rod it said shuttle does not enter either box, so depressing said catch to engage and operate said spragging mechanism.

6. A loom adapted for use with a dummy shuttle, said loom comprising a sley, shuttle boxes mounted independently of the s1ey,a shuttle race on said sley adapted to accommodate the dummy shuttle, means for drawing loops of weft from a stationary supply for engagement by said dummy shuttle, means for oscillating the sley, a yieldable connection between said sley and said oscillating means, detector means at each of said independently mounted shuttle boxes, and means under the control of said detector means adapted to bring the sley to rest before beat-up upon fail- 'ure of said dummy shuttle to reach either of said independently mounted shuttle boxes.

7. A loom having weft. replenishing mechanism, said loom comprising a sley, shuttle boxu mounted independently at the sl y, said weft replenishing mechanism being in fixed and permanent association with at least one of said independently mounted shuttle boxes, means for oscillating the sley, a yieldable connection between said sley and said oscillating means, detector means at each of said independently mounted shuttle boxes, and means under the control of said detector means adapted to bring the sley to rest before beat-up upon failure of the shuttle to reach either of said independently mounted shuttle boxes;

8. A loom having cop-changing mechanism, said loom comprising a sley, shuttle boxes mounted independently of the sley, said cop-changing mechanism being in fixed and permanent association with at least one of said independently mounted shuttle boxes, means !or oscillating the sley,*a yieldable connection between said sley and said oscillating means, detector means at each of said independently mounted shuttle boxes, and means under the control at said detector means adaptedtobrlngthe torest before beat-up upon failure of the uttie to ,reach either of said independently mounted shuttle boxes.

JOHN WILLIAM BENNEI'I. 

